Reported Barcelona target Mesut Ozil hasn’t reached a deal on a new contract with Arsenal yet and so he remains set to become a free agent next summer.

The German international will see his current deal expire at the end of the season, and there has yet to even be any public suggestion that he’s set to imminently put pen to paper.

In turn, speculation continues to grow over an exit, with AS reporting that he’s keen on joining Barcelona, but it remains to be seen whether or not his €370,000-a-week salary can be met by the Catalan giants.

Arsenal risk losing Mesut Ozil on a free transfer next summer

Although Ozil has encountered some troubles this season with his form for the Gunners, there is no denying his technical quality and creative ability, and it could be a very smart addition for Barca as he’d arguably fit in well at the Nou Camp given their style of play.

In contrast, Ernesto Valverde has guided his side to top spot in La Liga and their Champions League group so far this season, and so he’s evidently found a good balance in this side. As a result, an argument could be made against disrupting that, although additional quality and depth will always be useful to them to continue to compete on various fronts.

From an Arsenal perspective, they’ll surely prefer to see Ozil move abroad rather than risk seeing him join a Premier League rival, so finances aside, this could be a good move for all parties.

However, it’s added in the report that Barca will have to find a way to move Arda Turan on in January in order to create space in the squad and flexibility with their wage bill, so there still seems to be a fair bit standing in the way of Ozil sealing a return to Spain after his previous stint at rivals Real Madrid.